Equatorial Guinea is one of the horror stories of the post-colonial era in the developing world. Consisting of the continental territory of Rio Muni and the island of Fernando Po, it was a small but relatively prosperous Spanish colony until 1968. The successor regime of the Nguema clan is a bloody dictatorship, which has destroyed the economy and driven one-third of the population into exile. Today the country is among the world's poorest, and has dropped out of the international system. In recent years France has replaced Spain as the regime's chief economic backer, with no amelioration of its appalling human rights record. This is the first comprehensive monograph in English on Equatorial Guinea, and the Swiss author, Max Liniger-Goumaz, is the acknowledged international authority on the subject. Contents: Physical and Human Geography; The Colonial Period; Independence Miscarried; Demographic and Cultural Aspects of the Nguema Era; The Economy Under the Nguema Dictatorships; Present and Future; Conclusions; Postscript; Bibliographical Note; Short Bibliography of Post-Independence PublicationsàR